Texas Counties' Response to Census Varies Widely

Texas continues to lag behind other states in its response U.S. census mail questionnaire, but the rate varies widely by region, according to the latest figures.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the bureau had received responses from 56 percent of Texas households, compared with 62 percent of households that have responded nationally. But residents in more than two dozen Texas counties have been more responsive than both the state and national rates, according to the latest data, which you can explore using our interactive state map.

Only three states — Louisiana, New Mexico and Alaska — are returning the 10-question form at a lower rate than Texas, which ties Hawaii, Oklahoma and New York.

In an effort to save money, the bureau is now mailing about 40 million replacement questionnaires to low-response neighborhoods. The bureau believes it can improve the response rate by 7 to 10 percentage points nationwide. If true, that could save taxpayers as much as $500 million. (It costs about 42 cents to collect the information by mail and about $57 if the bureau has to physically visit a household). That process begins next week, though some bureau workers are already counting homeless residents in Texas.